The background art of seed analysis that uses spectrum analysis is directed to image analysis of roots or leaves.
Background art that uses image analysis to analyze seed roots uses an image scanner to obtain an image of a plurality of seedlings that are pressed into blotter paper. Software is used to process the seedlings image to remove the background from the image and thus isolate the plurality of seedlings. Then the software uses thresholding techniques to analyze the image of the seedlings to produce a resulting binary image of seedlings.
Because not all of the seedlings are usually neatly aligned, the seedlings may cross over each other. The software identifies which seedlings are physically crossing each other in the seedling image. The seedlings image information is further processed by software to determine the medial axis for each seedling, which is referred to as a “skeleton” of each seeding. All of the identifiable objects in the binary seedlings image are labeled with three things: a unique object label, the two-dimensional x-y axis bounds of that object, and the total number of pixels in that object. The software then determines the separation point between each seedling's hypocotyl and radicle using a stochastic minimization method. The software then determines the length of the hypocotyl and radicle of the root, and then generates a seed vigor rating of the seedlings based on these measurements, and weighted user defined factors.
The background art method is relatively calculation intense, does not classify structures of a plant besides a hypocotyl and a radicle, which are both parts of a root, and is not applicable to different types of seed/seedlings.